What I Talk about When I Talk about Running: A Memoir

From the best-selling author of Kafka on the Shore comes this rich and revelatory memoir about writing and running and the integral impact both have made on his life. Equal parts training log, travelogue, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers Murakami's four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon. Settings range from Tokyo, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston, among young women who outpace him.

The book is a slight but interesting meditation on running and life. If I could do it over though, I'd read it in print. The narrator has a flat american accent that seems entirely wrong for this author's work and distracts from the content.

The Girl Who Played with Fire

Lisbeth Salander is a wanted woman. Two Millennium journalists are murdered and Salander's fingerprints are on the weapon. Her history of unpredictable behaviour makes her the official suspect, but no-one can find her. Salander may be an expert at staying out of sight, but she also has ways of tracking down her most elusive enemies.

Almost as good as the first in the series--though what's with all the product placement!? A bit odd particularly given Larsson's political views. Still, it was an exciting listen and Saul Reichlin was once again an excellent reader. I look forward to the third in the series.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder - and that the killer is a member of his own family. He employs journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, truculent computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history.

I was initially disappointed not to be able to get the version read by Simon Vance, but this narrator was also superb. Well written (though perhaps a bit longer than it needed to be) and beautifully read by Saul Reichlin.

Landing

Sile is a stylish citizen of the new Dublin, a veteran flight attendant who's traveled the world. Jude is a 25-year-old archivist, stubbornly attached to the tiny town of Ireland, Ontario, in which she was born and raised. On her first plane trip, Jude's and Sile's worlds touch and snag at Heathrow Airport. In the course of the next year, their lives, and those of their friends and families, will be drawn into a new, shaky orbit.

I enjoyed the story--always happy to read any Emma Donoghue books. And it was excellent to find an audiobook with lesbian characters (apparently one of the few that audible offers.)

I thought the choice of narrator was unfortunate though--for a book with Canadian, Irish, and English characters why not choose a reader from one of those countries? The Irish accent sounded pretty good to me, but the English accent was grating, and how many Canadians would pronounce "Canuck" incorrectly or not be able to do a halfway decent impression of a Newfoundland accent!?

The Hundred Days: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 19

Patrick O'Brian transports you to the high seas of the Napoleonic era when the French demagogue is making a desperate attempt to control the European world. While Napoleon pursues the British across Europe, rumors fly about him forging a secret link with the forces of Islam. Soon an ominous horde of Muslim mercenaries gather.

The Reverse of the Medal: Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 11

Jack Aubrey is back in London after a successful mission. On the advice of an acquaintance he uses the time to invest some of his prize money. However when the investments link him to London's powerful criminal element and land him in jail it looks as if he has lost his post captaincy and the H.M.S. Surprise. It is once again up to ship's surgeon and covert agent Stephen Maturin to rescue his hapless friend.

Exit Music: Inspector Rebus, Book 17

It's late autumn in Edinburgh and late autumn in the career of Detective Inspector John Rebus. As he tries to tie up some loose ends before retirement, a murder case intrudes. A dissident Russian poet has been found dead in what looks like a mugging gone wrong. By apparent coincidence a high-level delegation of Russian businessmen is in town, keen to bring business to Scotland. The politicians and bankers who run Edinburgh are determined that the case should be closed quickly and clinically.

The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science

Buckle up for a joy ride through physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and astronomy. Drawing on conversations with hundreds of the world's top scientists and her own work as an award-winning science writer, Natalie Angier does the impossible: she makes science fascinating and seriously fun, even for those of us who, in Angier's words, "still can't tell the difference between a proton, a photon, and a moron".

Yes, Natalie Angier sometimes tries too hard to be funny, and her smart-aleckiness is only heightened by the narrator's chirpy read. But The Canon provides a readable overview to the many branches of science, and by the end of the book I felt more science-literate.

A History of Britain, Volume 1: At the Edge of the World, 3000 BC - AD 1603

To look back at the past is to understand the present. In this vivid account of over 4,000 years of British history, Simon Schama takes us on an epic journey which encompasses the very beginnings of the nation's identity, when the first settlers landed on Orkney.

The Art of Detection

The Art of Detection is another spellbinding tale starring San Francisco homicide inspector Kate Martinelli. The victim is Sherlock Holmes aficionado Philip Gilbert, whose collection of priceless memorabilia is definitely worth killing for. It's up to Kate and her trusted partner Al Hawkin to follow the clues and bring a rather peculiar murderer to Justice.

This is an excellent light read--possibly better read to oneself than listened to as the readers are just adequate. It's a nice mix of Sherlockiana and the contemporary. Not one of Laurie King's very best novels, but *anything* by this author is worth reading.

5 of
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